1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to dolls and, more particularly, to dolls provided with mechanical means for animated movement.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous mechanisms have been devised to animate the head and limbs of dolls or mannequins to impart lifelike movement. Typically, an electric motor, wound spring, or other drive means is employed to rotate a series of gears, pulleys, cams, and cranks that actuate various followers, levers, rods, and arms to achieve desired movement. The utilization of complicated mechanical means within the doll, particularly when used in combination with an electric motor, often results in an undesirable amount of noise during the movement of the doll. A realistic emulation of lifelike movement is thwarted by the various electrical or mechanical sounds emanating from the doll. Furthermore, such complicated mechanical or electromechanical mechanisms are often expensive to manufacture and are insufficiently reliable.
One goal of doll animation is to achieve a lifelike simulation of sleep. Such is conventionally achieved by weighting the eyes of the doll to close when the doll is manually held in a reclined position.